WWYD multiple problems diagnosed

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splash30

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Please could I have some opinions please.
Yesterday I took my horse a 6yr old TB x Arab (well 6% Arab) competition horse to the vets for a lameness work up as in the last two weeks he has gone from a fantastic uphill supple ride to a bronking very unhappy horse.

He is a very reactive horse who was diagnosed with ulcers October last year - these were under control but due to the symptoms above he went back onto GG just in case.

Anyhoo cutting a very long story short so far we have found kissing spine, and osteo-arthritis in both hocks with quite advanced remodelling which the vet thinks will be a mechanical lameness as well as pain related, the one really concerning thing is we blocked out his worst hock and it made no difference (to put the block in we had to sedate him first as he was having none of it, then let him wake up)

He is going for a bone scan a week Tuesday (hopefully if the insurance says yes) the vet thinks he also has SI issues and has also done his suspensories.

This is where the WWYD comes in? Anyone had all these problems and over come them to return to full competition work? atm he is understandable very aggressive, he would not cope with the KS operation. He is not a easy horse and is high maintainence on a good day and won't tolerate be fussed over, turning away isn't a option either he is too much of a drama queen and would properly add to the list of injuries!
I feel this could be the end as he us such a difficult horse and is highly intellegent and loves working/competing.
Any inputs welcome as I'm feeling extremely down
 
My horse had the KS op and is really not straightforward, we had to adapt the rehab, not walk in hand and cut the box rest, he then long reined instead of lunged, it was
doable even if not much fun. I have not had hock problems with mine but he has since had a tendon injury and just been diagnosed with navicular, vet is still being optimistic :eek: good luck with what you decide to do :)
 
Dont want to put the kiss of death on your situations but we have had similar problems(not the kissing spine though) with out 11 yr old dressage horse, spent 2 yrs and thousands of pounds on him , he was put to sleep 2 weeks ago, there has to be a cut off point somewhere, and the whole time was very stressfull for all of us - we tried our best.
 
I am quite pragmatic about this as his quality of life is paramount and as he is so reactive and aggressive with pain and has to be managed very well which thankfully my yard are very good at doing.
I am just gutted as he is so talented, I have a feeling I know what the outcome will be but myself and the vet can make a informed decision once he has had the bone scan as hopefully all the hotspots that affect him will show up. Its annoying he is not easy to nerve or joint block as makes our lives so difficult.
 
I feel your pain. Going through the exact same right now. Very talented 11yr old dressage horse. Had colic surgery this time last year, due to 'ulcerative lesions', was left with sacroilliac joint problems, and bilateral PSD, which then affected both front feet. He can't box rest because of the digestive problems, so has just had 4 months off, and we are going to try bringing him back into work asap. Spent £11,000 on him so far, this is his last chance.....there has to be a cut off point..... :(
 
What a shame hes such a young horse. Unless your willing to keep him for the rest of his life even if he never comes back comp or riding sound, or even field sound (with all those issues I wouldnt stack the odds in your favour) I wouldnt put him through all of the surgery, boxrest etc that will be required to fix all of the above.

I put my mare through 4/5 months of box rest and having her lose weight, weave herself silly and pretty much drive herself crazy everyday infront of me I will never do that to a horse again. If it cant be fixed by turning away then I wont do it.
 
Just to add....if I had a crystal ball 12 months ago, and could have foreseen half the struggle my poor horse would have to go through, things would have been very different. :( I would never ever put another horse through colic surgery.
 
Thank you for all your replies, I will always do what's is best for him, as he wouldn't cope with a lot of box rest and its a vicious circle with the ulcers too plus if he is in pain he becomes so aggressive and miserable and very hard to handle, which again triggers the ulcers.
I'm going to wait for the bone scan on the 19th to get more of an answer, then will have a very frank discussion with the vet.
It's completely gutting as so talented and the most amazing ride.
All your experiences are really appreciated as your just saying what I'm thinking.
 
Ulcers
kissing spine
osteo-arthritis in both hocks with quite advanced remodelling
SI issues
suspensories

So he possibly has five problems, is in pain and miserable at the moment and wouldn't cope with box rest.

In all honesty, I would talk to the Vet frankly RE PTS.
 
just wanted to say this is such a sad situation for both you and your horse it must be totally soul destroying. I do hope you post back and let us know how the scan goes x
 
My horse had the KS opp in November he tried to kill me before now he is myuch calmer and coped really well!!! He also has arthrisis in his hock. We did not have the scan as my insurance company felt they had found the issue so we opperated and he has 2 bones removed. I hope that the scan helps and you get all the issues listed down and can make an informed desicion. We have a facebook page horses with kissing spine and we have lots of horses on there that have had lots of different issues and opperations and treatment options, so dont dispare
xxx
 
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